


Closer

by mysteriousMonarch



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Inspired by Music, M/M, Secret Santa, Stridercest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 23:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9043838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysteriousMonarch/pseuds/mysteriousMonarch
Summary: Four years had gone by since Dirk had moved out and left Dave.  After years of no contact the two happen to meet again at a hotel bar.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is the gift I created for the Homestuck Secret Santa 2016. I don't have much experience writing Striders so I apologize in advance for this. 
> 
> Inspired by "Closer" by the Chainsmokers ft. Halsey. I recommend listening to that with this fic.

“I think it would be best if you moved out.”

Those were the words Dirk had come home to hear his older brother say to him one day four years ago. Inwardly, the middle Strider sibling was devastated. He wanted to scream in indignation or take a swing at Bro with the katana he practiced with on a near daily basis. Instead he remained stoic and was grateful for the totally sweet anime shades that covered his eyes and hid the tears that began stinging at their corners.

“Alright,” was all he said in response then went calmly to his room to pack up some of his more essential belongings. He would send for the rest later when he figured out where in the hell he was going to go. If he was going to be honest with himself, he was scared out of his mind. The only family he had in the world were his two brothers. Of course, he wasn’t going to be honest with himself because it would be totally uncool to start panicking and fall apart. In a way he had expected something like that to happen. If he were in Bro’s shoes and happened to walk in on his two younger brothers naked and in bed together he probably wouldn’t take it very well either. 

“I was thinkin’ about leaving the nest soon anyways,” he had said to Bro casually when he returned to the living room carrying a full suitcase. “Too much Strider for one apartment to handle in here.”

“Be careful out there,” Bro had said flatly. He may have been disgusted by Dirk’s actions, but he still cared for his younger brother. Without another word, Dirk absconded before Dave got home. He had thought of leaving a note in the younger Strider’s room but he had no idea what he would say. 

So Dirk loaded up in his half broken down old Camry and just drove. He didn’t know where he was going but he figured if he just kept driving he would eventually figure it out. He made it to a city about two hundred miles away before his car finally had it and wouldn’t go any further. He was able to find a place to live when he saw an ad at a coffee shop that someone had posted looking for a roommate. His heart was set on becoming a DJ but in the meantime he settled for a minimum wage job at the movie theater by his apartment. 

Eventually, Dirk seemed to develop a habit of stopping in at this swanky hotel to have a few drinks at the bar before heading home on nights that he worked late at the theater. He wasn’t sure what exactly drew him in the hotel in the first place but it was typically buzzing with activity. He like to people watch as he sat sipping on his various drink choices. Something about the glittering gilded décor that made up a majority of the hotel struck him as ironic. The fact that outside the intricate double doors the world was cold and going to shit while people sat at the bar laughing and drinking from crystal really struck a chord within him. 

The night before New Year’s Eve was no exception to Dirk’s routine. He left his uniform jacket, which was emblazoned with the theater’s logo, on the coat rack near the door. The blond man sauntered over to the bar in his white dress shirt and red tie perfectly blending in with the rest of the well-dressed patrons that populated the room. He ordered a Long Island iced tea and settled himself in one of the cushiony chairs near the fireplace ready to people watch for the next few hours. 

He let his mind wander as he observed two aristocratic looking women gossip at a table across the room. Their jewels sparkled in the dim lighting. He made it a third of the way though his drink when he stared watching a dark haired young man who had just entered the room with a girl that resembled him enough they had to have been related. They looked incredibly young, like they could have just turned twenty one. The guy had a dorky buck toothed grin on his face and sported a blue bow tie with his black suit. He and the girl who wore a sparkling black and green gown approached the bar and took seats on the stools then both ordered drinks. Dirk was about to move his gaze along to another part of the room when something about the young couple at the bar made him do a double take. 

The dark haired pair was joined by a sophisticated looking blonde young woman who wore an elegant black and purple dress and was escorted by a suave blond man in a black suit with a red dress shirt and black tie. He wore a pair of dark aviator shades even though they were indoors. Dirk’s eyes widened in disbelief behind his own dark glasses. Dave. The blond man getting chummy at the bar in the small group of friends was none other than his younger brother. The brother he had been forced to leave. The one he thought he could make himself get over with time.

Dirk had been doing fine, he thought as he hoped he could remain where he was seated without being detected by any of the members of the group seated at the bar. Sure, he could probably do without drinking so much but for the most part he was okay. He had a job and was making some steady money, he had a place to stay and had made pretty good friends with his roommate. Everything was going according to plan until Dirk laid eyes on Dave sitting on that stool decked out in a classy suit sipping an ironically fruity looking beverage with an unreadable expression on his face. If he was destined to see the younger man again, why did it have to be with him dressed like that? It was too much for Dirk to take.

By the time he had finished his drink, Dirk had finally come to the decision that he was going to make his presence known to the other man. He couldn’t stay away when his heart told him he would never get over his feelings for the blond who sat smirking behind his glass at something one of his friends had said. He stealthily made his way up to the bar and took a seat a few stools down from Dave and his friends. When the bar tender came over to take his order he requested a shot for Dave then watched as it was prepared then delivered. The confusion was evident on the younger Strider’s face, even with his shades on. Then the bar tender said, “This is from the gentleman down the bar.” 

“What is it?” Dave asked before trying to look for who had sent it.

“ A cocksucking cowboy,” the bartender responded as if he were used to people ordering suggestive sounding drinks for unsuspecting patrons. Dave immediately turned his head to look for the guy that had sent the drink. It didn’t take him long to pick Dirk out among the others sitting at the bar. 

“Everything alright?” John Egbert, Dave’s buck toothed friend asked. Dave felt his heart speed up for a second as time seemed to stand still while he looked at Dirk and Dirk gave him a small wave. Dave kept his cool on the outside and time resumed as Dirk slid off his barstool and made his way over towards him. 

“It’s my brother,” Dave said out loud to his friends.

“Bro’s here?” Jade asked in confusion.

“No. It’s Dirk,” Dave clarified. The younger Strider had mixed emotions flooding his thoughts. He felt relieved and hopeful at seeing Dirk in the flesh again. He also felt hurt and angry that the other man had left him without even saying goodbye all those years ago. Anger was what decided to surface by the time Dirk was standing beside Dave’s barstool receiving curious glances from the other three seated nearby.

“Hey,” Dirk said feeling pretty stupid that he couldn’t come up with anything better to say. 

“She speaks! Oh, speak again, bright angel,” Dave responded sarcastically. He went ahead and downed the shot in front of him and Rose took the initiative to speak next. 

“Dirk,” she spoke daintily. “We haven’t heard much about you.” Her eyes seemed to be taking in every detail of the older Strider as if she were studying his every move.

“You’re not missing much,” Dirk responded dismissively. “What brings all of you out here?” he asked trying to accurately gauge Dave’s mood. He could already tell there was a wall built up around him. 

“We’re on winter break so we thought it would be fun to go on a road trip for New Years,” John answered.

“You’re all in college I take it?” Dirk asked. He was glad to hear that Dave had made it that far in his education.

“Jesus bro, what’s with the twenty questions?” Dave snapped irritably. He avoided looking directly at Dirk and instead watched the empty shot glass he kept turning over in his hands. “It’s not like you probably even give a shit,” he muttered. Dirk opened his mouth to speak but caught himself and looked over at his brother’s friends. He wasn’t sure exactly how much he should say in front of them.

“Do you think I could talk to you in private?” Dirk asked after a moment of hesitation. Dave took a breath and let it out through his nose then set the shot glass down on the bar.

“Yeah I guess,” the younger Strider conceded. He slid off the bar stool and turned to his friends. “I’ll meet up with you guys later.”

“It was nice to meet y’all,” Dirk said tilting his head toward them. 

“You too!” Jade responded enthusiastically. Dirk turned to lead the way to the front doors of the hotel knowing that Dave would follow. He grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and Dave kept a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t get lost in the crowd of people coming and going from the hotel. Looking at Dirk, it was almost hard to remember why he was mad at him. The older Strider looked better than Dave remembered. He was taller and his face showed a maturity that came from having to support himself on his own. 

“There’s no fucking way you can afford that thing,” Dave said when they reached the parking lot and he saw Dirk fiddling with the keys to unlock a black Land Rover. 

“Not really,” Dirk smirked. “But I aim to impress,” he said then held the passenger door open. “After you, my lady.”

“I do declare, Mr. Strider. I’m not sure my fair maiden heart can take all this chivalry at once,” Dave responded and pretended to fan himself before stepping into the car.

“Smartass,” Dirk told him then shut the door and went around to get in on the driver side. He closed the door and the intense silence of the two of them sitting alone less than two feet from each other set in. They sat looking anywhere but at each other for what felt like an eternity. Finally Dave spoke up.

“It’s been four years, Dirk. No calls- nothing,” he kept his voice steady. He never thought he would have the chance to say these things to the other man. “Did it mean nothing to you?” he asked quietly.

“Of course it meant something,” Dirk defended immediately. He almost felt sick to his stomach that Dave thought he didn’t care for him. He knew he really hadn’t left him with much to go by to think otherwise and he deeply regretted it. 

“So why’d you leave? Why haven’t you tried to contact me?” Dave questioned.

“You could have found me if you wanted,” Dirk pointed out.

“I thought I’d done something wrong to make you leave,” Dave admitted. “What else was I supposed to think?” It was completely silent for another moment as Dirk wrestled with his thoughts. 

“I didn’t want to leave,” he said. “Bro thought that it would be better for you if he separated us so he pretty much kicked me out.”

“What the fuck-“

“I don’t blame him really,” Dirk continued before Dave could fully go off on a tirade. “I didn’t know what to say to you before I left but I thought, you know, what if we were wrong? Maybe with me out of the picture entirely you would have a chance to find someone else. If I just dropped out of your life maybe you would get over me and have a chance to be happy. I didn’t want to make you choose this.” Dirk let out a slightly shaky breath and looked only at a spot on his steering wheel. Dave processed what his brother had said. He felt his anger slip away because it all made sense. He completely understood why Dirk had done what he did.

“Why do you always have to be so selfless?” Dave laughed a bit to himself. “You’re too rational. No wonder you spend so much time around robots.” He turned to look over at Dirk. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m still not over you.” Dirk looked over at the younger man. Shades met shades. 

“I don’t think I could ever really get over you either,” Dirk said. All at once their mouths were connecting between the two front seats of the car and the alcohol in their systems was nothing compared to the intoxication of the way the other tasted. Dirk’s hands found themselves tangled in Dave's hair while Dave held Dirk's face close. It didn’t take long for Dirk to become frustrated with the steering wheel being in the way and the two climbed between the seats to get into the back.

Their kisses became sloppy and around the time Dirk’s shirt was unbuttoned and pushed halfway off with Dave biting at his shoulder near his Hella Jeff tattoo he decided it was about time they moved things back to his apartment. He managed to pull himself away from Dave long enough to drive them back to his place. Things continued to happen quickly as soon as the apartment door was unlocked. Luckily Dirk’s roommate was out of town visiting a friend for the holidays.

Dave become attached to Dirk at the mouth again the second the door was closed behind them. They crashed into walls as Dirk attempted to lead them back to his bedroom. They entered the first open room in the hallway and fell onto the bed tangled up in each other. When they were finished they laid on top of the pink sheets which were coming up off the corners of the mattress. Music played quietly from Dirk’s phone mostly for background noise.

“I’ve gotta say I’m surprised by the lack of smuppets in here,” Dave said between placing kisses on Dirk’s bare freckled shoulders. “And the fact that it looks a lot gayer than I thought you were capable of.”

“That’s because this isn’t my room,” Dirk said with a small chuckle. “My room is down the hall. This is Roxy’s room.”

“So what you’re telling me is that we just fucked in you roommate’s bed?” Dave clarified.

“Yes. That would be what happened,” Dirk said. 

“Well this is awkward,” Dave smirked.

“I’m sure she would find it hilarious if I told her,” Dirk said thinking out loud.

“Oh my god,” Dave said when a Blink-182 song started to play on the phone. “Remember when Bro took us on that road trip and we kept playing this song pretty much every half hour to try to get on his nerves?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s why he refused to stop for bathroom breaks on the way back. I think that was his payback.” Dirk smiled at the memory and laced his fingers in Dave’s. He looked directly into his brother’s crimson eyes. 

“It was worth it,” Dave said meeting Dirk’s orange gaze. “It’s still funny too.”

“Do you think we’ll ever grow up?” Dirk asked. His tone suggested he was asking about their immature joke, but his eyes held more meaning. Like he was asking if they would ever grow out of this. The thing they had. 

“Nah,” Dave said squeezing Dirk’s hand. “We ain’t ever getting older.”


End file.
